Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo

Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo is a DTV film which was aired on the 15th of September 2006 on Cartoon Network and released on DVD in 2007. The plot involves on the Titans looking for a criminal called Brushogun said to be a myth by all the Japanese.

Despite being made after the last season, Trouble in Tokyo takes place between seasons four and five.

David Slack returned to write this movie--he had left after season four, which was originally supposed to be the last season.

Contents

File:Robinbattlessaicotek.jpgThe Teen Titans spring into action when a new threat, the dichromatic ninja Saico-Tek, appears in their city. A chase across the city ensues, which leaves Titans Tower heavily damaged. Saico-Tek is interrogated by Robin with the aid of a translation program (since the captive speaks only Japanese) and reveals the identity of the one who sent him: Brushogun. The ninja then vanishes mysteriously after destroying a fire sprinkler, and the Titans' only choice is to head to Tokyo and search for his mysterious master.

Beast Boy is overjoyed to finally get a vacation, but once the Titans are in Tokyo, the language barrier poses some trouble until Starfire uses her inherent skill to absorb language by kissing a passer-by (much to the shock of most of her team-mates, especially Robin). With directions to Shinjuku thus acquired, the team heads off, but they don't get very far before trouble shows up in the form of Deka-Mido, a gigantic reptilian monster that is tearing its way through the city. The monster shares the regenerative powers of Saico-Tek, and the Titans' abilities have no effect on it; thankfully, Tokyo's own super-normal defence force - the Tokyo Troopers, led by Commander Uehara Daizo - arrives to stop the beast in its tracks with an energy cage.

File:CyborgTokyo.jpgDaizo shows the Titans around the Tokyo Troopers headquarters, and when Robin questions him on Brushogun, he informs the Teens that he is nothing more than an urban legend. Left at a loose end, the Titans can do nothing more than bow to Beast Boy's desire to enjoy Tokyo as tourists. Cyborg takes in the local cuisine at a sushi restaurant, where his bottomless appetite under an "all-you-can-eat" offer quickly rouses the ire of the chefs. Raven's desire for reading material leads her to a bookshop where she learns of the myth of Brushogun. Beast Boy, meanwhile, attempts to visit Wakamono Shuppan, the publishing house of his favourite manga, only to find it closed. Instead, he relaxes with a manga on the steps of the building, and soon catches the eye of a cute girl. The girl leads Beast Boy to a karaoke bar, where he finds more girls who love his performance and don't want him to leave ...

Robin and Starfire, meanwhile, visit a video game arcade, where Starfire's game skills attract a lot of attention. Afterward, she and Robin retreat to a rooftop to discuss more intimate matters - Robin recalls how Starfire kissed him when they first met, and now understands that it was to learn English, but Starfire has now learned that on Earth, the action means "more." Robin, however, is focused on his mission to apprehend Brushogun: he and Starfire are heroes, and for now, much to her dismay, they cannot be "more."

File:Teen-titans-trouble-in-tokyo-20070202022536740-000.jpgInvestigating alone, Robin is attacked once more by Saico-Tek, and they get into a very violent fight which ends with Robin pummeling the ninja into the ground. But when Saico-Tek does not rise, the crowd watching believes Robin has murdered his opponent. Commander Daizo apprehends Robin, despite the hero's protestations of innocence, but as he is transferred, a slip of paper bearing the name "Brushogun" flits into the armoured car carrying him and explodes, freeing him. Now on the run, Robin co-opts the identity of File:TeenTitans-TroubleInTokyo249 0001.jpga Shinjuku mugger who tried to shoot him, and reunites with the other Titans, who have themselves been attacked by strange creatures that look like they have leapt straight out of a Japanese comic book and starfire saves robin from the troopers. He and Starfire spend another tender moment again in a temple with lighted candles and incense sticks to keep warm ... which is suddenly interrupted by the other Titans.

File:Broshogun.jpg Brushogun, as Raven relates, was an artist who had fallen in love with a woman he had drawn, and had attempted to bring her to life using Japanese black magic. But the spell turned against the artist, and was transformed into a being of paper and ink - ink that he could use to bring any creation he could imagine to life and robin found out they were fighting drawings that means he didn't hurt anyone and he found out that Brushogun created him to frame him and he puts on his uniform and he told the titans that their fugitives from the law they have criminal on the loose who can make other criminals and he told them that the only way they can prove their good and innocent is to hunt him down and bring him to justice. With this new information, Robin has no trouble deducing Brushogun's hideout: Wakamono Shuppan. Breaking in (after being chased by a majority of Tokyo's citizens, including Brushogun's creations, Beast Boy's fangirls, Cyborg's angry chefs, and the Tokyo Troopers), the Titans discover a horrifying sight: the frail, withered form of Brushogun, wired into a printing press that draws on his powers to create the enemies the Titans have been faced with. The true villain turns out to be Commander Uehara Daizo, who has used Brushogun's powers to lie and create the villains and monsters that his Tokyo Troopers (also Brushogun's creations) were made famous by capturing. Robin was framed for the "murder" of Saico-Tek because Daizo did not like his persistence in uncovering his secret and he framed the other titans as enemies of the state

A massive battle between the Titans and freshly-printed versions of Brushogun's creations ensues, culminating when Robin faces Daizo on a walkway above the factory floor. With no options of escape left, Daizo hurls himself from the catwalk, into the ink reservoir of the press below, taking control of Brushogun's powers and transforming himself into a giant, hulking mass of ink and machinery, with Brushogun himself at the centre. As the other Titans battle the warped creations that Daizo hurls at them, Robin frees Brushogun from the monstrous conglomeration. As the old man fades away in his arms, like ink fading with time, his powers disappear and Daizo is left defeated and exposed.

In the wake of the battle, Robin tells Starfire that this whole experience has shown him that it is possible to be something more than a hero. As he stumbles out an explanation of his feelings, Starfire quiets him by saying, "Robin... stop talking," and the two share a real, passionate kiss, to the satisfaction of the other Titans and knew that their boy and girl would get together one day.

A short time later, at the award ceramony,the Titans are awarded medals of honor by the mayor for their actions, and the inhabitants of Tokyo welcome their new heroes with some individual rewards as well to say their sorry. Robin and Starfire are seen tenderly holding hands meaning they have become boyfriend and girlfriend. Beast Boy then declares that next time, he wants to go to Mexico, and Raven smacks him off the screen, concluding a long-running gag and the movie.File:Teen Titans Theme Song By The Teen Titans!

The ending credits roll as each of the Titans sing the karaoke version of their theme song.

Brushogun's creations are clear parodies of famous characters from Japanese manga and anime. For more information, see Brushogun.

Akira: When Robin and Starfire watch a sumo wrestling match, there are three spectators (seen from behind) dressed like Kaneda, Yamagata and Kai, characters from the Akira manga and movie.

Godzilla: The attack of Deka-Mido is a nod to the Japanese Godzilla and similar monster movies, which remain internationally popular even to this day.

Iron Chef: A Japanese cooking show specializing in French cuisine. The Red Chef, who makes several cameos in the Teen Titans series, is a parody of one of the show's two chief cooks, Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai.

Batman Begins: The scene where Robin is on a motorcycle with the Tokyo troopers in hot pursuit is similar to the car chase from Batman Begins.

Terminator II: Judgment Day: The scene where Robin takes out the mugger and takes his jacket and sunglasses, proceeds to enter a bar where he gets into a fight with the patrons, and takes a man's motorcycle, is similar to the first scene with the Terminator in that film.

Starfire is seen playing a strange hybrid of DDR, Guitar Hero, and Whack-A-Mole.

In the arcade, there is an otaku cosplaying as Ryu from Street Fighter.

Raven smacks Beast Boy on the head multiple times, similar to Gibbs in NCIS.

Brushogun falling in love with a woman whom he painted is an allusion to the Greek mythology of Pygmalion, a sculptor who falls in love with his own statue.

Throughout the movie, the Japanese spelling of some of the Titans' names appear on neon lights.

Raven reveals here she is a multilinguist. She can speak English, German, Latin, Romanian, ancient Sumerian and Sanskrit.

Somehow, every one of Beast Boy's bad jokes is proven true, for example (on Saico-Tek) "Maybe he just wasn't waterproof!", which it turned out, being made of ink, he wasn't. And when he insisted on taking a tour of Wakamono Shuppan, it turns out that the factory is Uehara Daizo's hideout.

Uehara Daizo's transformation into the ink monster is similar to the origin of the Joker, archenemy of Batman and Robin.

During the DDR/Guitar Hero homage scene, in the background one can see a boy who closely resembles Beast Boy in terms of appearance and clothes (lacks the green skin and pointy ears). This person was also seen in the episode "257-494" as the boy watching movies in Beast Boy's flashback of watching TV in 'Episode 257-494'.

In this movie, the theme song is actually sung by the Titans themselves

This is the first time the Titans have been on vacation.

Beast Boy wore a tropical shirt on top of his uniform.

This is the only time in the cartoon that Robin's eyes are visible, albiet in a humorously animated fashion(unless you can't the three frames that they were visible in 'The Sum of his Parts' {also humorous}).

Starfire: You do?Robin: Maybe... a hero isn't all that I really am. Maybe I could be, maybe we could be...Starfire: Robin?Robin: Starfire?Starfire: [smiles] Stop talking.

[Starfire & Robin finally kiss]

Cyborg: Well it's about time!

Beast Boy: Ugh! How am I supposed to pick up hot Japanese girls with a big green stain on my shirt?Raven: Your skin is green, you have fangs, and your ears are pointed. You're really worried about the shirt?Beast Boy: Hey! Chicks dig the ears!

Cyborg: Think you can make a meal out of me? You don't have the guts![Sushi Robot bites off Cyborg's arm]Cyborg: Or maybe you do have the guts.

Robin: This doesn't make sense. People don't just disappear.Cyborg: I don't know what to tell you, man. The crime scanner's one of the only things we got working in this place, and it can't find him anywhere.Raven: I can't make psychic contact, either.Starfire: Perhaps this Saico-Tek possesses the power of teleportation?Robin: If he could teleport, he would have done it the moment he was caught.Beast Boy: Oh! Oh! Maybe he just wasn't waterproof.[Cyborg and Raven glaring at him]Beast Boy: I know. Not helping.

Robin: [to monster] Hey! Over here! Your mother was a salamander!

Beast Boy:Wooh Yeah, HELLO JAPAN!......So ........When do we get to go see the Great Wall?

Raven:Never, It's in China.

Starfire:Did you make any of the new friends in Tokyo?

Raven: No, but I somehow became a mascot for gum. [chews gum and blows bubble]